HAPPPYYYYYY 2026 to all my Southie neighbors and friends.  Nothing much has changed on my front, besides now I’m 50% hard copy and 50% Kindle-bound.  I’m still walking and reading, as well as missing my stop to get off the bus, because my nose was stuck in my book.  What did you all get for the holidays from your book wish list?  Any reads that you can’t wait to check out in the new year?  I just ordered the new Frieda and Hoover, because I’m a sucker for easy trashy reads – but I promise to read a few out of my usual realm this year.

I’ve also migrated into writing these reviews as friend to friend, neighbor to neighbor – rather than the more formal “review” way.  Thoughts?  I didn’t think anyone wanted to read paragraphs and paragraphs about a book when they could just look it up on Google.

What I read recently:

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

Question of the day:  If a box appeared on your doorstep containing a string that shows you how long your life will be, would you open it?   Would you want to know?

What if certain privileges and rights are given to those with longer strings, and those with shorter aren’t considered worthy?  After all, their lives are going to end soon.  Shouldn’t more be provided for those who will live longer?

Would you vote for someone with a longer string or a short one?  Would you stay in a relationship with someone who has a short string?

These and more thought-provoking questions will race through your head as you read this book.  I immediately texted two of my work colleagues to see what they’d do and a week later, we were still talking about it.   It was a must-read by Jenna’s book club a year or two ago and I see why.

So, would you want to know? My answer:  yes, lol.

The Many Lives of Mama Love, by Lara Love Hardin

Picture sticking your head out the front door on West 4th Street and watching your favorite soccer mom getting handcuffed by the local police.  When your neighbor across the street comes over to gossip on the stoop about what’s going on, you learn that the mom has been stealing everyone in play group’s credit cards to fund her heroin habit.   If you read that and were like “ooooOooooOooooOoooH,” grab this title.

As the title states, Mama Love has many lives.  Lara leads us through the before (within her million-dollar home), the during (bouncing from an unpaid motel to jail), and the after (ghost writing among the celebrity circle).    We see the consequences of her actions and how she desperately fights to keep in contact with her sons.

I will say that this shows the lows and the highs – but Lara’s highs are one of a kind.  Her successes after jail are due to her abilities, talents, education, past, connections, and more.  Not everyone has that.  The justice system fails so many, but for Lara, it forces her to look at herself, pull herself up, and even propels her to bigger success than the average person.  As you read, you’re pulling for Lara but also wondering why her – and not others. It made me Google her to see what was written in the papers and see what her neighbors/victims said – just so I felt I got a more well-rounded picture of what happened – but overall, I was intrigued and couldn’t put this one down.

People We Keep, by Allison Larkin 

Oh, I loved this one.  It was like a warm cup of tea on the couch with your dog sitting next to you.  April is only 16 years old, but spends her days dreaming of “home” and “family” – and those are the two themes that run heavy throughout People We Keep.  Her father shouldn’t even have the title, because he pretty much leaves her to fend for herself in a trailer while he pursues a new wife and child.  After a nasty fight, she realizes it’s time to go – so she steals her elderly neighbor’s car and high tails it out of there with only her guitar in hand.  The majority of the book follows April on her journey, which flips between music, love, and working at little spots around the country.

I loved that April took control of her life (even at a young age) and wasn’t afraid to work.  Her experiences working at the coffee shop and the diner relate to anyone who’s had a similar job.  She meets people along the way, some who want to help and some who want to take advantage. It’s not my usual oozy blood thriller, but something about it is still a page turner.  You want April to succeed,  you want her to find a place to call home and friends who turn into family.

The guitar in hand plays a smaller role than I thought it would (and I’m happy about

that).  I thought it would be about her musical journey, but it plays a relatively small role (in my opinion).  This one’s homey, so give it a try.

Yellowface, by RF Kuang

This one was recommended to me over and over by friends, colleagues, and Instagram friends, but I didn’t start reading it until I found a free copy.  The main character, June, hasn’t seen book success in ages, but watches her former writing classmate, Athena, continue to inch up the best-seller list – with awards and a Netflix show in the works.

Jealousy + insecurity + chaos.

It all comes to a head one night at the apartment when a freak accident has Athena choking – and June steps right in.  She sneaks Athena’s draft into her jacket and quickly passes it off as her own under an Asian-leaning name.  Internet detectives who’ve followed Athena’s journey aren’t believing it and have June looking over her shoulder as they shoot accusations at her.  It leaves us hanging with questions around identity and privilege – and it was an interesting way to write about it.

Note: RF Kuang is an Asian author, writing as a white main character (June/Juniper Song), who steals the identity of an Asian Author (Athena).

The Academy, by Elin Hilderbrand

I love everything she writes.

I barely enjoyed this one.

I loved the idea of a new setting, a New England boarding school – not the typical Nantucket / Cape Cod scene. Anything slightly reminiscent of Gossip Girl times is a win.

But why, why, why is it always a teacher/student relationship in these books?  I’m over it.  Yes, there are other story lines going on – lots of gossiping, but I was too annoyed that the good didn’t take over the rest.

I don’t want to give this one a lot of my time, but if you’re an Elin fan – grab it, I’m sure there is going to be a sequel.  I wouldn’t say it’s close to being one of her best.   Let me know what you think, please!

PS.  My favorite is Blue Bistro (oldie!) and the Troubles in Paradise trilogy.  Winter Street’s trilogy comes in third. How about you?

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, by Bryn Greenwood

HELP.

Did you read this?

Can you tell me what was wonderful?

I read about a lot of “ugly things,” but am unsure where the wonderful ones are.  Is it the writing? Is it the connection between humans?

But what if the humans are an adult and a child?

Even the first part of the book jacket is “A beautiful and provocative love story between two unlikely people…” – yes, two people who shouldn’t be in love due to their age.  What is beautiful exactly about a relationship between a child and a grown-up?  Plus, they’re only in love due to circumstances and their environment/communities/families not doing their job, right?

If you’ve read this, I’d love you to clue me in to what so many out there loved about it.  I guess I will say that I did read it.  Individually, Wavy and Kellen pulled at my heartstrings, but the ups and downs of their relationship throughout the novel made me so angry.  I felt that I was a bystander and a mandated reporter, but I couldn’t report something in a fictional book.

The Perfect Divorce, by Jeneva Rose

Did you read The Perfect Marriage?  I did. But I can’t remember anything about it besides that I think I wrote in my Goodreads review that it was awful.  I think I finished it and said I wouldn’t pick up another book by the author again.

That stayed true until I saw a copy of The Perfect Divorce in a Little Free Library with “fake” blood dripping down the pages, and I thought, “why not?”  I need an easy read for while I walk back and forth to the Seaport.

And I’m glad I did.

If you’re looking for a quick read – at the same level as a Frieda McFadden-type thriller, I’d say grab this one. You don’t need to have read the previous book (I can’t remember a single thing).  It reads like a single episode of Chicago P.D. with multiple viewpoints from a husband and wife, the sheriff and supporting characters.   It all circles back to Sarah, who is checking the boxes to divorce her second husband, Bob.   However, when a child is involved (Summer), all’s a go.  Each person is trying to destroy the other and is not afraid to bring to light what lies hidden in the dark.  Sarah previously defended her first husband for murdering his mistress, and currently, Bob’s mistress is nowhere to be found.  Fingers are being pointed, accusations flying everywhere, and threats to release secret past information are jumping from page to page. I was surprised that this book held my attention, but I found every guess I made was wrong – and I needed to get to the end.

I do recommend this one!  I don’t think it’s necessary that you read the first book, but if you want a continuous read-through, try Marriage first.

Also check out:

• A History of Wild Places, by Shea Ernshaw: I’ve had limited access to books about cults and had no clue that this was one of them.  Besides it having the smallest font ever (?), I thought it was great!  A man goes searching for a woman who disappeared years ago up in the mountains and he’s realizing that maybe she made the choice to go (and wasn’t taken).  We learn that there’s a group who’s found their own community with a leader who has put fear and boundaries in its members mind, taking away their ability to leave.

• King of Ashes, by SA Cosby:  Big scenes, big names, lots of shock value.  It takes place on gritty city streets and in the back rooms of family-run crematorium.  Multiple families and opposing gangs overlap, intertwine, twist and break all over the pages here.    The main character, Roman, returns home to take care of family business – his father’s been put in the hospital, his mother’s been missing, his brother’s up to his elbows in drug use and his sister is just trying to survive.  Note:  it’s quite bloody!

And now…

I’m currently reading Conform by Ariel Sullivan, which is a combination of The Selection, The Hunger Games, Divergent, + the Handmaid’s Tale.  So far, I’m only 100+ pages in, and it highlights a “new world” after a war that wiped out the majority and placed them in a new class system of Minor & Major Defects who serve the Elite, ruled by a group called the Illum.  The biggest thing I’ve gotten from it is a love triangle, and they keep calling women “vessels,” which has me wanting to throw the book out the MBTA window every time I read it, but I can’t put it down.

If you got this far, thank you.  Let us know if you’ve read any of these choices or want to share what you’ve got next on your list. Please do so via the comments on @caughtinsouthie or catch me at @glossinbossin / @josiegl on Instagram.

All of the above hard copies have been put in Free Little Libraries in the Southie neighborhood (unless it was a Kindle version).  Enjoy.